FOREIGN AFFAIRS
U.S., China see progress on U.N. resolution on North Korea
China and the United States signalled on February 22 they were near agreement on a U.N. resolution against North Korea for its January 6 nuclear test. "Important progress has been made in the consultations and we are looking at the possibility of reaching agreement on a draft resolution and passing it in the near future," Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said at a joint news conference with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry. China and the United States have not entirely seen eye to eye on how strong the response should be to North Korea since the nuclear test, Pyongyang's fourth, with Washington urging harsh punitive measures and Beijing emphasizing dialogue. "We have made significant progress. It has been very constructive in the last days," Kerry told reporters. "We both hope that this can move forward very soon."
Source(s): Reuters, February 23, 2016
Chinese govt donates prefab houses for Myanmar flood victims
The Chinese government donated 1,160 sets of prefabricated houses on February 22 for Myanmar's flood victims. The donation, valued at some 30 million yuan (4.6 million US dollars), was delivered ceremonially to the Myanmar side at Myanmar International Terminals Thilawa. Attending the handover ceremony were Chinese Ambassador to Myanmar Hong Liang and Myanmar Deputy Minister for Construction Dr. Win Myint. The Chinese ambassador said since Myanmar was severely struck by flood in August and September last year, China has offered emergency aid and follow-up relief worth over 100 million yuan (15.34 million US dollars). China and Myanmar are friendly neighbors and Chinese people share the same sentiment when Myanmar people suffer from natural disasters, he said, adding that helping Myanmar people overcome hardship brought by the disasters is a demonstration of the China-Myanmar paukphaw (fraternal) friendship.
Source(s): Global Times, February 22, 2015
China weapon exports surge over past five years: report
China has almost doubled its weapons exports in the past five years, a military think tank said on February 21, as the world's third-largest weapons exporter pours capital into developing an advanced arms manufacturing industry. In 2011 to 2015, China's arms imports fell 25 percent compared with the previous five year period, signaling a growing confidence in the country's homegrown weaponry despite key areas of weakness, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) said in a report on global arms transfers. Chinese exports of major arms, which excludes most light weaponry, grew by 88 percent in 2011-2015 compared to the earlier five-year timeframe, SIPRI said. The country still accounted for only 5.9 percent of global arms exports from 2011-2015, well behind the United States and Russia, by far the world's two largest arms exporters. Most of China's arms sales went to countries in Asia and Oceania, the report found, with Pakistan accounting for 35 percent, followed by Bangladesh and Myanmar.
Source(s): Reuters, February 21, 2016
ECONOMY
Bangladesh all set to become AIIB founding member as parliament passes bill
Bangladesh is now all set to become a founding member of the China initiated Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) as the country's parliament has passed a bill in this connection. "We're now all set to join the bank as a founding member as our parliament on Wednesday night passed the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank Bill 2016," said a senior finance ministry official on February 25. The official who did not like to be named said the country will also soon submit part of its subscription fees. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's cabinet in December last year approved the bill which was on Wednesday passed in the parliament by voice vote.
Source(s): People’s Daily, February 25, 2016
Beijing replaces New York as billionaire capital of the world
This year's Hurun Global Rich List shows Beijing has replaced New York as the billionaire capital of the world. Hurun noted that out of a record 2,188 billionaires in 68 countries and regions, China took-up 568 places on the list with a hundred of them based in the capital.The addition of 90 wealthy Chinese to the list this year also means China overtook the US in the total number of ultra rich for the first time. Leading the Chinese billionaires is Wang Jianlin, chairman of the Dalian Wanda Group, China's largest real estate developer and the world's largest movie theater operator.
Source(s): People’s Daily, February 25, 2016
Chinese banks freeze North Korean accounts: South Korean media report
Some Chinese banks operating near the border with North Korea have frozen bank accounts held by North Koreans, by suspending deposit and transfer services, according to a media report on February 22. Among the banks is the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC), the country's largest bank. If the report from the Donga Ilbo is correct, the banks' moves contrast with the Chinese government's negative reactions to the international community's actions to impose additional sanctions on Pyongyang for its recent provocations that violated United Nations' (U.N.) resolutions. However, the South Korean foreign ministry said it was unable to confirm the report, adding that it was closely monitoring relevant Chinese moves.
Source(s): Korea Times, February 22, 2016
POLITICS AND SOCIETY
China to launch new anti-graft inspection in 2016
China's central authority will conduct a fresh round of anti-corruption inspections, the first of 2016, into 32 entities and four provinces. Inspection teams will be dispatched to Party and state organs, including the Publicity Department of the CPC Central Committee, the National Development and Reform Commission, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council, the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI) said in a statement on February 23. At a meeting on new inspections, Wang Qishan, head of the CCDI, highlighted CPC leadership in the inspection. Noting that the Party's leadership is a political leadership, Wang said the inspection should reinforce the political fundamentals of CPC rule.
Source(s): Global Times, February 23, 2016
China's Xi underscores CPC's leadership in news reporting
Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday ordered news media run by the Communist Party of China (CPC) and the Chinese government to strictly follow the Party's leadership. Speaking in a symposium on February 19 a after touring China's three leading news providers, the People's Daily, Xinhua News Agency and China Central Television, Xi, also General Secretary of the CPC Central Committee, called Party- and government-run news outlets the "publicity fronts" of the party and the government. All news media run by the Party must work to speak for the Party's will and its propositions and protect the Party's authority and unity, Xi said. They should enhance their awareness to align their ideology, political thinking and deeds to those of the CPC Central Committee and help fashion the Party's theories and policies into conscious action by the general public while providing spiritual enrichment to the people, he said.
Source(s): The Xinhua News Agency, February 19, 2016
SCIENCE AND TECHOLOGY
China to support basic research through new sci-tech plans
China is to improve basic research through new national sci-tech plans, said Chinese Minister of Science and Technology Wan Gang on February 24. China will support scientists in new fields of research with a natural sciences plan. A key R&D plan will focus on basic research fields that address future needs, including quantum communication, life sciences, stem cells and environmental protection, Wan told a press conference. The R&D plan will involve basic research while targeting technology for fields and industries vital for economic and social development, Wan added.
Source(s): The Xinhua News Agency, February 24, 2016
Chinese scientists decode gene sequence of imported Zika virus
Chinese scientists on February 21 sequenced the genome of the country's first imported Zika virus, helping with prevention and diagnosis. The success was achieved by scientists with the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention and the provincial center in east China's Jiangxi Province. China confirmed the first imported Zika case on Feb. 9. The patient, a 34-year-old man from Jiangxi, developed a fever, headache and dizziness on January 28 in Venezuela, before returning home on February 5 via Hong Kong and Shenzhen. He has been discharged from hospital after a full recovery.
Source(s): The Xinhua News Agency, February 22, 2016
BIBLIOGRAPHY
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Swagata Saha
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